Abstract Summary/Description
This paper explores the role of technology in urban landscapes, focusing on the cybersecurity risks associated with metropolitan development and technological innovation. The integration of more advanced technology into city operations has brought significant advancements to metropolitan areas, enhancing efficiency of services and quality of life for citizens, but also introduces cybersecurity risks that can threaten public safety, threaten to cripple those same city services, pose dangers to critical infrastructure, and threaten to expose sensitive data. Section I of this paper examines the nature of technology growth within metropolitan landscapes, focusing specifically on the adoption of smart city technologies, the risks of digital infrastructure, the benefits of expanding digital infrastructure, and identifies the types of cyber-attacks and threat actors. Section I then concludes with an exploration of lessons from the recent cyber-incidents in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Maryland, and other cities that have become the targets of cyber threat actors. Section II, explores existing vulnerabilities for growing cities, potential risks and harms of cyber-attacks, legal and regulatory challenges, and ends with recommendations for local governments to mitigate the frequency and magnitude of cyber-attacks. Finally, Section III concludes with a discussion of methods of improving the resilience of critical infrastructure and maintaining public trust through proactive and comprehensive cybersecurity strategies.
